This invention relates to a dispenser-type cap for use on ketchup or mustard containers or the like. In particular, the invention relates to a dispenser cap having tamper-evident features, and a container for use with the cap.
At present various types of food condiments are packaged and sold in containers having dispenser caps which allow small amounts of the condiment to be released by adjusting the cap from a first, closed position to a second, open position. With the cap in an open position the container is inverted and/or squeezed to release a desired amount of the contents.
In recent years there have been an increasing number of incidents involving the tampering with of the contents of products for use on or in the human body while the products are on the shelves of retail stores. Examples include the introduction of cyanide into headache remedy capsules and the introduction of caustic solutions into eyedrop bottles.
The prospects seem dim at best for improving the general mental health of the human race to the point where such incidents vanish. A more practical approach to the problem, which has been widely implemented with respect to over-the-counter drugs and eyecare products, is to provide a cap for the product container which displays evidence of having been tampered with.
The consumer is protected from possible injury or death by refusing to purchase any product with a container that appears to have been tampered with. The consequent losses associated with the tampering of product containers by deranged or cold-blooded individuals is thus limited to the economic losses of the merchant who discards products that show evidence of having been tampered with.
The following patents may have some relevance to the present invention:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Name of Inventor Date Issued ______________________________________ 960,898 J. Gullong June 7, 1990 1,009,536 J. F. Lokowich November 21, 1911 1,756,165 E. R. Petrie April 29, 1930 2,734,665 K. H. Flamm February 14, 1956 3,149,763 N. T. Exton September 22, 1964 3,486,503 A. J. Porter et al. December 30, 1969 3,570,726 Pomodoro March 16, 1971 3,581,953 Donoghue June 1, 1971 4,223,810 Sneider September 23, 1980 4,240,566 Bergman December 23, 1980 4,432,496 Ito February 21, 1984 4,572,386 Marcus February 25, 1986 4,487,336 Sneider December 11, 1984 4,946,075 Lundbaeck August 7, 1990 4,957,225 Childers September 18, 1990 ______________________________________
Reference to the above listed patents will show that there are varying degrees of relevance to the present invention. Brief descriptions of some of the more pertinent of the patents are given below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,566 to Bergman is directed to a cap and mixing cup arrangement for a multiple-chamber container. The container 10 includes a removable collar 116 having a central threaded aperture, and a cap 100 having a threaded lower body which threadably engages the threaded central aperture of collar 116.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,496 to Ito is directed to a foam liquid dispensing device. The liquid dispensing device includes a cylindrical container 10 having a threaded neck 11, an inner cover which threadably engages neck 11, and an outer cover member 40 which threadably engages an outwardly extending outer cylindrical portion 27 of cover 20. Neck cover 20 includes an inner cylindrical portion 22 which tapers outwardly to provide a frustoconical portion 23. Outer cover 40 includes a jet nozzle 42 at its uppermost end.
None of the patents listed in the table above is any more relevant than those that have been briefly described. Two examples of prior-art dispenser containers are depicted in FIGS. 7-10 of the drawing.
There has existed a long-felt need for a tamper-proof or tamper-evident type of dispenser cap for edible products such as ketchup, mustard, honey, or the like. Ideally such a dispenser cap would operate in a manner similar to the dispenser caps now on the market, but be amenable to safety sealing, so that any unauthorized opening and closing of the cap prior to sale would be immediately apparent to a prospective purchaser.